Contextual mobile local search based on social network vitality information

ABSTRACT

A system, apparatus, and method are directed to managing contextual based mobile searches. A context oriented user interface interprets inputs from a mobile user based on vitality information. In one embodiment, the input may be interpreted as a request to perform a context-based search over a network using at least some of the vitality information. Vitality information may include a location of the mobile device, a time of day, an event, information from the mobile user&#39;s calendar, past behavior of the mobile user, weather, social networking data, aggregate behaviors, or even information about proximity of a social contact. By employing vitality information to perform a mobile search, better search results and a richer user experience may be provided that includes a sense of community, a sense of presence (e.g., a sense of “here-ness.”). In one embodiment, the mobile user may provide comments to others regarding the search results.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to mobile search and, moreparticularly, but not exclusively to performing contextual mobilesearches based, at least in part, on social networking information,including vitality information for a social network.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Tremendous changes have been occurring in the Internet that influenceour everyday lives. For example, online social networks are the newmeeting grounds. They have been called the new power lunch tables andnew golf courses for business life in the U.S. Moreover, many people areusing such online social networks to reconnect themselves to theirfriends, their neighborhood, their community, and the world.

The development of such online social networks touch countless aspectsof our everyday lives, providing instant access to people of similarmindsets, and enabling us to form partnerships with more people in moreways than ever before.

However, as social networking transforms our lives, many businessescontinue to struggle to keep up, and provide value to the consumer insuch a structure. Without the ability to extend value to a consumer'sonline experience, consumer loyalty to a business may quickly diminish.Thus, many businesses are searching for new ways to integrate socialnetworking into their online business models with features that appealto the consumer, while making a profit. Therefore, it is with respect tothese considerations and others that the present invention has beenmade.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Non-limiting and non-exhaustive embodiments of the present invention aredescribed with reference to the following drawings. In the drawings,like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the variousfigures unless otherwise specified.

For a better understanding of the present invention, reference will bemade to the following Detailed Description, which is to be read inassociation with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a system diagram of an environment in which the invention maybe practiced;

FIG. 2 shows one embodiment of a mobile device that may be included in asystem implementing the invention;

FIG. 3 shows one embodiment of a network device that may be included ina system implementing the invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates a logical flow diagram generally showing oneembodiment of a process for gathering and/or aggregating socialnetworking information;

FIG. 5 illustrates a logical flow diagram generally showing oneembodiment of a process for use by a mobile device in performing acontext based search using vitality information;

FIG. 6 illustrates a logical flow diagram generally showing oneembodiment of a process for use by a network device in responding to arequest for a context based search; and

FIG. 7 shows one embodiment of a use case illustrating performing acontext based search and providing a mobile review of a search result,in accordance with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention now will be described more fully hereinafter withreference to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, andwhich show, by way of illustration, specific exemplary embodiments bywhich the invention may be practiced. This invention may, however, beembodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limitedto the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments areprovided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and willfully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art.Among other things, the present invention may be embodied as methods ordevices. Accordingly, the present invention may take the form of anentirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment or anembodiment combining software and hardware aspects. The followingdetailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense.

Throughout the specification and claims, the following terms take themeanings explicitly associated herein, unless the context clearlydictates otherwise. The phrase “in one embodiment” as used herein doesnot necessarily refer to the same embodiment, though it may.Furthermore, the phrase “in another embodiment” as used herein does notnecessarily refer to a different embodiment, although it may. Thus, asdescribed below, various embodiments of the invention may be readilycombined, without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention.

In addition, as used herein, the term “or” is an inclusive “or”operator, and is equivalent to the term “and/or,” unless the contextclearly dictates otherwise. The term “based on” is not exclusive andallows for being based on additional factors not described, unless thecontext clearly dictates otherwise. In addition, throughout thespecification, the meaning of “a,” “an,” and “the” include pluralreferences. The meaning of “in” includes “in” and “on.”

As used herein, the terms “social network” and “social community” referto a concept that an individual's personal network of friends, familycolleagues, coworkers, and the subsequent connections within thosenetworks, can be utilized to find more relevant connections for avariety of activities, including, but not limited to dating, jobnetworking, service referrals, content sharing, like-minded individuals,activity partners, or the like.

An online social network typically comprises a person's set of directand/or indirect personal relationships, including real and virtualprivileges and permissions that users may associate with these people.Direct personal relationships usually include relationships with peoplethe user can communicated with directly, including family members,friends, colleagues, coworkers, and other people with which the personhas had some form of direct contact, such as contact in person, bytelephone, by email, by instant message, by letter, or the like. Thesedirect personal relationships are sometimes referred to as first-degreerelationships. First-degree relationships can have varying degrees ofcloseness, trust, and other characteristics.

Indirect personal relationships typically include relationships throughfirst-degree relationships to people with whom a person has not had someform of direct or limited direct contact, such as in being cc'd on ane-mail message, or the like. For example, a friend of a friendrepresents an indirect personal relationship. A more extended, indirectrelationship might be a friend of a friend of a friend. These indirectrelationships are sometimes characterized by a degree of separationbetween the people. For instance, a friend of a friend can becharacterized as two degrees of separation or a second-degreerelationship. Similarly, a friend of a friend of a friend can becharacterized as three degrees of separation or a third-degreerelationship.

As used herein, “live” or a “live view” refers to providing of real-timeor approximately real-time data. It is recognized that due to a varietyof reasons, transfer of data over a network may be delayed by somevarying amount of time. The delay may vary based on conditions of thenetwork, configurations of the network, configuration of the sendingand/or receiving device, or the like. Thus, live or a live view mayrange between real-time data transfers to some varying amount of timedelay.

The term “vitality” as used herein refers to online and/or offlineactivities of a member of a social network. Thus, vitality informationis directed towards capturing these aspects of a social community,through various communications between members, and their activities,states, and/or moods of various members, or the like. Vitalityinformation may include, but is not limited to a location of the mobiledevice, weather information where the member is located, an event,information from the mobile user's calendar or even a friend's calendar,information from the mobile user's task list, past behavior of themobile user and/or another member of the social network, the mobileuser's preferences, a mood of a social network member, a mood of themobile user, photographs, video files, audio files, internet links,information from a blog, an Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feed,Instant Messages (IMs), blog entries, emails, or the like, and eveninformation about physical (e.g., geographical) proximity of the mobileuser's social contacts, what the mobile user is doing at the moment inthe real world, or the like. Vitality information however, is notlimited to these examples, and other information that may describe thelively, open, or animated aspects of a social network may also beemployed.

Moreover, the term “social networking information,” includes vitalityinformation. However, social networking information refers to bothdynamic as well as less dynamic characteristics of a social network.Social networking information includes various profile information abouta member, including, but not limited to the member's avatar, contactinformation, the member's preferences, degrees of separation between themember and another member, a membership in an activity, group, or thelike, or the like.

Social networking information further may include various informationabout communications between the member and other members in the socialnetwork, including, but not limited to emails, SMS messages, IMmessages, Multimedia Message (MMS) messages, alerts, audio messages,phone calls, either received or sent by the member, or the like.

Various “meta-data” may also be associated with the social networkinginformation. Thus, for example, various permissions for access may beassociated with at least some of the social networking information. Someaccess permissions (or sharing rules) may be selected, for example,based, in part, on an input by the member, while other accesspermissions may be defaulted based on other events, constraints, or thelike. Briefly stated, the present invention is directed to a system,apparatus, and method that weave online social communities into a richermobile experience for the mobile user, in part, by enabling contextualbased mobile searches to be performed. Such contextual based mobilesearches enable the mobile user to perform a search using, at least inpart, vitality information from a social network.

Employing vitality information or other social networking information toperform a search provides a context to the search. That is, a search maybe performed that accounts for where the mobile user may be physicallylocated, what time of day the search is being performed, whether membersof the mobile user's social network are nearby, aggregated informationfrom other social networking members, what might be in the mobile user'scalendar, task list, or the like.

The search may also take into account a mood of the mobile user, asindicated by the mobile user's avatar, an event, comment, or otherinput. The search may further take into account past behaviors of themobile user, comments from members of the mobile user's social network,content of the mobile user's calendar, to do list, what activities themobile user may be currently engaged in on the mobile device, or thelike. By employing such social networking information to modify a searchrequest the result of the search request may be made to become morerelevant to the mobile user.

In one embodiment, the mobile device may employ a context-basedapplication that may be configured to receive an input from the mobileuser, and to interpret the input based, in part, on the vitalityinformation or other social networking information. In one embodiment,based on the received input, the context-based application may providethe user with a list of actions that invoke a mobile application or aremote application, including a context-based search. The list ofactions may change based on additional input from the mobile user. Theuser may select an application from the list for execution, provideadditional input, or even select the context-based search to beperformed. Furthermore, if the context-based search is performed, themobile user may be enabled to provide comments to others within theirsocial network regarding the results of the search to further enhancethe mobile user's social experience.

Illustrative Operating Environment

FIG. 1 shows components of one embodiment of an environment in which theinvention may be practiced. Not all the components may be required topractice the invention, and variations in the arrangement and type ofthe components may be made without departing from the spirit or scope ofthe invention. As shown, system 100 of FIG. 1 includes local areanetworks (“LANs”)/wide area networks (“WANs”)-(network) 105, wirelessnetwork 110, Vitality Aggregation Service (VAS) 106, mobile devices(client devices) 102-104, client device 101, and information services107.

One embodiment of mobile devices 102-103 is described in more detailbelow in conjunction with FIG. 2. Generally, however, mobile devices102-104 may include virtually any portable computing device capable ofreceiving and sending a message over a network, such as network 105,wireless network 110, or the like. Mobile devices 102-104 may also bedescribed generally as client devices that are configured to beportable. Thus, mobile devices 102-104 may include virtually anyportable computing device capable of connecting to another computingdevice and receiving information. Such devices include portable devicessuch as, cellular telephones, smart phones, display pagers, radiofrequency (RF) devices, infrared (IR) devices, Personal DigitalAssistants (PDAs), handheld computers, laptop computers, wearablecomputers, tablet computers, devices 102-104 typically range widely interms of capabilities and features. For example, a cell phone may have anumeric keypad and a few lines of monochrome LCD display on which onlytext may be displayed. In another example, a web-enabled mobile devicemay have a touch sensitive screen, a stylus, and several lines of colorLCD display in which both text and graphics may be displayed.

A web-enabled mobile device may include a browser application that isconfigured to receive and to send web pages, web-based messages, and thelike. The browser application may be configured to receive and displaygraphics, text, multimedia, and the like, employing virtually any webbased language, including a wireless application protocol messages(WAP), and the like. In one embodiment, the browser application isenabled to employ Handheld Device Markup Language (HDML), WirelessMarkup Language (WML), WMLScript, JavaScript, Standard GeneralizedMarkup Language (SMGL), HyperText Markup Language (HTML), eXtensibleMarkup Language (XML), and the like, to display and send a message.

Mobile devices 102-104 also may include at least one other clientapplication that is configured to receive content from another computingdevice. The client application may include a capability to provide andreceive textual content, graphical content, audio content, and the like.The client application may further provide information that identifiesitself, including a type, capability, name, and the like. In oneembodiment, mobile devices 102-104 may uniquely identify themselvesthrough any of a variety of mechanisms, including a phone number, MobileIdentification Number (MIN), an electronic serial number (ESN), or othermobile device identifier. The information may also indicate a contentformat that the mobile device is enabled to employ. Such information maybe provided in a message, or the like, sent to VAS 106, client device101, or other computing devices. Moreover, mobile devices 102-104 mayfurther provide information associated with its physical location toanother computing device.

Mobile devices 102-104 may also be configured to communicate a message,such as through Short Message Service (SMS), Multimedia Message Service(MMS), instant messaging (IM), internet relay chat (IRC), Mardam-Bey'sIRC (mIRC), Jabber, and the like, between another computing device, suchas VAS 106, client device 101, or the like. However, the presentinvention is not limited to these message protocols, and virtually anyother message protocol may be employed.

Mobile devices 102-104 may be further configured to enable a user toparticipate in communications sessions, such as IM sessions. As such,mobile devices 102-104 may include a client application that isconfigured to manage various actions on behalf of the client device. Forexample, the client application may enable a user to interact with thebrowser application, email application, IM applications, SMSapplication, and the like.

Mobile devices 102-104 may further be configured to include a clientapplication that enables the end-user to log into an end-user accountthat may be managed by another computing device, such as VAS 106. Suchend-user account, for example, may be configured to enable the end-userto receive emails, send/receive IM messages, SMS messages, accessselected web pages, participate in a social networking activity, or thelike. However, participation in various social networking activities mayalso be performed without logging into the end-user account.

In addition, mobile devices 102-104 may include another application thatis configured to enable the mobile user to display and interact withvarious integrated live views that are configured based, in part, on themobile user's social networking activities, experiences, and the like,including vitality information associated with the mobile user's socialnetwork. The integrated live views may be directed towards providing themobile user with an integrated virtual ‘hang-out’ space forparticipating in various social events, including but not limited tosending/receiving photos between social networking members,‘chit-chatting’ with members, blogging, sharing visual moodrepresentations, sharing various messages, and generally participatingin a variety of integrated social experiences beyond merely voicecommunications or text messages (e.g., IM). Moreover, such integratedlive views enable the mobile user to configure highly personalized viewsand identities in virtual spaces within their social network.

Mobile devices 102-104 may also communicate with non-mobile clientdevices, such as client device 101, or the like. In one embodiment, suchcommunications may include participation in social networkingactivities, including sharing of photographs, participating indetermining how to spend time with other members, sending/receiving ofmessages, providing information based on physical proximity betweenmembers, or similar virtual hang-out activities.

In addition, mobile devices 102-104 may include a context orientedapplication or other component that is configured to interpret a mobileuser's input based, in part, on social networking information, includingvitality information. In one embodiment, the context orientedapplication may be integrated within a mobile operating system on themobile device.

In one embodiment, the context oriented application may provide a listof applications based, in part, on a combination of social networkinginformation, including vitality information, and the mobile user'sinput. For example, the mobile user may provide a sequence of numbersand/or alphanumeric characters that may be interpreted based on aphysical location of the mobile device, a time of day, content of themobile device's calendar, task list, a physical proximity between themobile device and other members of the mobile user's social network, orthe like. One embodiment of a use case illustrating such interpretationand use is described in more detail below in conjunction with FIG. 7. Inany event, the mobile user may select one of the listed applications forexecution, select a context based search to be performed based in parton the input, provide additional characters as input, or even performsome other action, such as exiting the mobile device, or the like.

Client device 101 may include virtually any computing device capable ofcommunicating over a network to send and receive information, includingsocial networking information, or the like. The set of such devices mayinclude devices that typically connect using a wired or wirelesscommunications medium such as personal computers, multiprocessorsystems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics,network PCs, or the like. Moreover, client device 101, althoughrepresenting a computing device that is non-mobile, may be configured toperform many of the actions described above for mobile devices 102-104.In addition, in at least one embodiment, client device 101 may alsoprovide information, such as a MAC address, IP address, or the like,useable to determine its physical location.

Wireless network 110 is configured to couple mobile devices 102-104 andits components with network 105. Wireless network 110 may include any ofa variety of wireless sub-networks that may further overlay stand-alonead-hoc networks, and the like, to provide an infrastructure-orientedconnection for mobile devices 102-104. Such sub-networks may includemesh networks, Wireless LAN (WLAN) networks, cellular networks, and thelike.

Wireless network 110 may further include an autonomous system ofterminals, gateways, routers, and the like connected by wireless radiolinks, and the like. These connectors may be configured to move freelyand randomly and organize themselves arbitrarily, such that the topologyof wireless network 110 may change rapidly.

Wireless network 110 may further employ a plurality of accesstechnologies including 2nd (2G), 3rd (3G) generation radio access forcellular systems, WLAN, Wireless Router (WR) mesh, and the like. Accesstechnologies such as 2G, 3G, and future access networks may enable widearea coverage for mobile devices, such as mobile devices 102-104 withvarious degrees of mobility. For example, wireless network 110 mayenable a radio connection through a radio network access such as GlobalSystem for Mobil communication (GSM), General Packet Radio Services(GPRS), Enhanced Data GSM Environment (EDGE), Wideband Code DivisionMultiple Access (WCDMA), and the like. In essence, wireless network 110may include virtually any wireless communication mechanism by whichinformation may travel between mobile devices 102-104 and anothercomputing device, network, and the like.

Network 105 is configured to couple VAS 106 and its components withother computing devices, including, mobile devices 102-104, clientdevice 101, and through wireless network 110 to mobile devices 102-104.Network 105 is enabled to employ any form of computer readable media forcommunicating information from one electronic device to another. Also,network 105 can include the Internet in addition to local area networks(LANs), wide area networks (WANs), direct connections, such as through auniversal serial bus (USB) port, other forms of computer-readable media,or any combination thereof. On an interconnected set of LANs, includingthose based on differing architectures and protocols, a router acts as alink between LANs, enabling messages to be sent from one to another.Also, communication links within LANs typically include twisted wirepair or coaxial cable, while communication links between networks mayutilize analog telephone lines, full or fractional dedicated digitallines including T1, T2, T3, and T4, Integrated Services Digital Networks(ISDNs), Digital Subscriber Lines (DSLs), wireless links includingsatellite links, or other communications links known to those skilled inthe art. Furthermore, remote computers and other related electronicdevices could be remotely connected to either LANs or WANs via a modemand temporary telephone link. In essence, network 105 includes anycommunication method by which information may travel between VAS 106,client device 101, and other computing devices.

Additionally, communication media typically embodies computer-readableinstructions, data structures, program modules, or other data in amodulated data signal such as a carrier wave, data signal, or othertransport mechanism and includes any information delivery media. Theterms “modulated data signal,” and “carrier-wave signal” includes asignal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed insuch a manner as to encode information, instructions, data, and thelike, in the signal. By way of example, communication media includeswired media such as twisted pair, coaxial cable, fiber optics, waveguides, and other wired media and wireless media such as acoustic, RF,infrared, and other wireless media.

One embodiment of VAS 106 is described in more detail below inconjunction with FIG. 3. Briefly, however, VAS 106 may include anycomputing device capable of connecting to network 105 to enableaggregation and management of social networking information, includingvitality information. VAS 106 may receive from various participants in asocial network, information including information associated withactivities, moods, events, messages, vitality information,communications, or the like. VAS 106 may also receive social networkinginformation from a variety of other sources including, for example,information services 107. VAS 106 may store at least some of thereceived information for use by one or more social networking members.VAS 106 may also aggregate a portion of the received social networkinginformation and enable one or more social networking members to receiveand/or use at least a portion of the aggregated information, and othersocial networking information.

In one embodiment, VAS 106 may receive and manage a contextual basedsearch request from mobile devices 102-104, or even from client device101. VAS 106 may employ the stored social network information includingvitality information, aggregate social networking information, or thelike, in part, to provide a response to the search request. In oneembodiment, VAS 106 may update at least some of the social networkinginformation for use in performing the context based search. VAS 106 maythen provide a context based search response to the requesting computingdevice.

Devices that may operate as VAS 106 include personal computers desktopcomputers, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based or programmableconsumer electronics, network PCs, servers, and the like.

Although FIG. 1 illustrates VAS 106 as a single computing device, theinvention is not so limited. For example, one or more functions of VAS106 may be distributed across one or more distinct computing devices.For example, managing various social networking activities, includingsharing of photographs, managing Instant Messaging (IM) session, SMSmessages, email messages, sharing of contact information, aggregatingand/or storing of social networking information, as well as performingthe context based searches, may be performed by a plurality of computingdevices, without departing from the scope or spirit of the presentinvention.

Information services 107 represents a variety of service devices thatmay provide additional information for use in generating live views onmobile devices 102-104. Such services include, but are not limited toweb services, third-party services, audio services, video services,email services, IM services, SMS services, VOIP services, calendaringservices, photo services, or the like. Devices that may operate asinformation services 107 include personal computers desktop computers,multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumerelectronics, network PCs, servers, and the like.

Illustrative Mobile Client Environment

FIG. 2 shows one embodiment of mobile device 200 that may be included ina system implementing the invention. Mobile device 200 may include manymore or less components than those shown in FIG. 2. However, thecomponents shown are sufficient to disclose an illustrative embodimentfor practicing the present invention. Mobile device 200 may represent,for example, mobile devices 102-104 of FIG. 1.

As shown in the figure, mobile device 200 includes a processing unit(CPU) 222 in communication with a mass memory 230 via a bus 224. Mobiledevice 200 also includes a power supply 226, one or more networkinterfaces 250, an audio interface 252, a display 254, a keypad 256, anilluminator 258, an input/output interface 260, a haptic interface 262,and an optional global positioning systems (GPS) receiver 264. Powersupply 226 provides power to mobile device 200. A rechargeable ornon-rechargeable battery may be used to provide power. The power mayalso be provided by an external power source, such as an AC adapter or apowered docking cradle that supplements and/or recharges a battery.

Mobile device 200 may optionally communicate with a base station (notshown), or directly with another computing device. Network interface 250includes circuitry for coupling mobile device 200 to one or morenetworks, and is constructed for use with one or more communicationprotocols and technologies including, but not limited to, global systemfor mobile communication (GSM), code division multiple access (CDMA),time division multiple access (TDMA), user datagram protocol (UDP),transmission control protocol/Internet protocol (TCP/IP), SMS, generalpacket radio service (GPRS), WAP, ultra wide band (UWB), IEEE 802.16Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), SIP/RTP, or anyof a variety of other wireless communication protocols. Networkinterface 250 is sometimes known as a transceiver, transceiving device,or network interface card (NIC).

Audio interface 252 is arranged to produce and receive audio signalssuch as the sound of a human voice. For example, audio interface 252 maybe coupled to a speaker and microphone (not shown) to enabletelecommunication with others and/or generate an audio acknowledgementfor some action. Display 254 may be a liquid crystal display (LCD), gasplasma, light emitting diode (LED), or any other type of display usedwith a computing device. Display 254 may also include a touch sensitivescreen arranged to receive input from an object such as a stylus or adigit from a human hand.

Keypad 256 may comprise any input device arranged to receive input froma user. For example, keypad 256 may include a push button numeric dial,or a keyboard. Keypad 256 may also include command buttons that areassociated with selecting and sending images. Illuminator 258 mayprovide a status indication and/or provide light. Illuminator 258 mayremain active for specific periods of time or in response to events. Forexample, when illuminator 258 is active, it may backlight the buttons onkeypad 256 and stay on while the client device is powered. Also,illuminator 258 may backlight these buttons in various patterns whenparticular actions are performed, such as dialing another client device.Illuminator 258 may also cause light sources positioned within atransparent or translucent case of the client device to illuminate inresponse to actions.

Mobile device 200 also comprises input/output interface 260 forcommunicating with external devices, such as a headset, or other inputor output devices not shown in FIG. 2. Input/output interface 260 canutilize one or more communication technologies, such as USB, infrared,Bluetooth™, or the like. Haptic interface 262 is arranged to providetactile feedback to a user of the client device. For example, the hapticinterface may be employed to vibrate mobile device 200 in a particularway when another user of a computing device is calling.

Optional GPS transceiver 264 can determine the physical coordinates ofmobile device 200 on the surface of the Earth, which typically outputs alocation as latitude and longitude values. GPS transceiver 264 can alsoemploy other geo-positioning mechanisms, including, but not limited to,triangulation, assisted GPS (AGPS), E-OTD, CI, SAI, ETA, BSS or thelike, to further determine the physical location of mobile device 200 onthe surface of the Earth. It is understood that under differentconditions, GPS transceiver 264 can determine a physical location withinmillimeters for mobile device 200; and in other cases, the determinedphysical location may be less precise, such as within a meter orsignificantly greater distances. In one embodiment, however, mobiledevice 200 may, through other components, provide other information thatmight be employed to determine a physical location of the device,including for example, a MAC address, IP address, or the like.

Mass memory 230 includes a RAM 232, a ROM 234, and other storage means.Mass memory 230 illustrates another example of computer storage mediafor storage of information such as computer readable instructions, datastructures, program modules or other data. Mass memory 230 stores abasic input/output system (“BIOS”) 240 for controlling low-leveloperation of mobile device 200. The mass memory also stores an operatingsystem 241 for controlling the operation of mobile device 200. It willbe appreciated that this component may include a general purposeoperating system such as a version of UNIX, or LINUX™, or a specializedclient communication operating system such as Windows Mobile™, or theSymbian® operating system. The operating system may include, orinterface with a Java virtual machine module that enables control ofhardware components and/or operating system operations via Javaapplication programs.

Memory 230 further includes one or more data storage 244, which can beutilized by mobile device 200 to store, among other things, applications242 and/or other data. For example, data storage 244 may also beemployed to store information that describes various capabilities ofmobile device 200. The information may then be provided to anotherdevice based on any of a variety of events, including being sent as partof a header during a communication, sent upon request, or the like.Moreover, data storage 244 may also be employed to store socialnetworking information including vitality information, or the like. Atleast a portion of the social networking information may also be storedon a disk drive or other storage medium (not shown) within mobile device200.

Applications 242 may include computer executable instructions which,when executed by mobile device 200, transmit, receive, and/or otherwiseprocess messages (e.g., SMS, MMS, IM, email, and/or other messages),audio, video, and enable telecommunication with another user of anotherclient device. Other examples of application programs include calendars,browsers, email clients, IM applications, SMS applications, VOIPapplications, contact managers, task managers, transcoders, databaseprograms, word processing programs, security applications, spreadsheetprograms, games, search programs, and so forth.

Operating system 241 may also include context manager 245. Althoughillustrated in FIG. 2 as a component of operating system 241, theinvention is not so limited, and context manager 245 may also beimplemented as one or more applications with applications 242, withoutdeparting from the scope or spirit of the invention.

Context manager 245 is a context oriented application that may beconfigured to receive an input from the mobile user, and to interpretthe input based, in part, on vitality information or other socialnetworking information. Based on a combination of social networkinginformation, context manager 245 may enable a display of a list ofapplications, including a context based search application. Asadditional input is received, context manager 245 may modify the list ofapplications that is displayed.

The user of mobile device 200 may select for execution one of theapplications from the list, provide additional input, select the contextbased search, or perform any of a variety of other actions, including,but not limited to exiting mobile device 200, dialing a telephone numberbased on the input, or the like.

If the mobile user selects to perform the context based search, arequest may be provided to a network device. In one embodiment, therequest includes the input from the mobile user along with socialnetworking information, including perhaps, vitality information. Thus,in one embodiment, context manager 245 may modify the input to combineadditional parameters to be used in performing the search. For example,context manager 245 may modify the search with such parameters as aphysical location of mobile device 200, information from a calendarassociated with mobile device 200, information for a task list, acontact list, aggregate social networking information, social networkinginformation obtained from another computing device, such as VAS 106 ofFIG. 1, or the like.

Context manager 245 may obtain at least a portion of the socialnetworking information from data storage 244, and/or another storagemedium on mobile device 200. Context manager 245 may also request socialnetworking information from a networked device, such as VAS 106 of FIG.1, or the like. In one embodiment, context manager 245 may also obtainsocial networking information, including vitality information from oneor more applications within applications 242 to modify the searchrequest.

Context manager 245 may provide the modified context based searchrequest to another computing device, such as VAS 106, or the like.Context manager 245 may receive and display a context based response tothe search request. In one embodiment, context manager 245, or anothercomponent, such as a browser application, or the like, may display thecontext based response to the search request. In one embodiment, themobile user of mobile device 200 may be enabled to provide a comment toat least a portion of the context based response. Context manager 245may employ at least a portion of a process such as described below inconjunction with FIG. 5 to perform at least some of its actions.

Illustrative Server Environment

FIG. 3 shows one embodiment of a network device, according to oneembodiment of the invention. Network device 300 may include many morecomponents than those shown. The components shown, however, aresufficient to disclose an illustrative embodiment for practicing theinvention. Network device 300 may represent, for example, VAS 106 ofFIG. 1.

Network device 300 includes processing unit 312, video display adapter314, and a mass memory, all in communication with each other via bus322. The mass memory generally includes RAM 316, ROM 332, and one ormore permanent mass storage devices, such as hard disk drive 328, tapedrive, optical drive, and/or floppy disk drive. The mass memory storesoperating system 320 for controlling the operation of network device300. Any general-purpose operating system may be employed. Basicinput/output system (“BIOS”) 318 is also provided for controlling thelow-level operation of network device 300. As illustrated in FIG. 3,network device 300 also can communicate with the Internet, or some othercommunications network, via network interface unit 310, which isconstructed for use with various communication protocols including theTCP/IP protocol. Network interface unit 310 is sometimes known as atransceiver, transceiving device, or network interface card (NIC).

The mass memory as described above illustrates another type ofcomputer-readable media, namely computer storage media. Computer storagemedia may include volatile, nonvolatile, removable, and non-removablemedia implemented in any method or technology for storage ofinformation, such as computer readable instructions, data structures,program modules, or other data. Examples of computer storage mediainclude RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology,CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD) or other optical storage, magneticcassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magneticstorage devices, or any other medium which can be used to store thedesired information and which can be accessed by a computing device.

The mass memory also stores program code and data. One or moreapplications 350 are loaded into mass memory and run on operating system320. Examples of application programs may include transcoders,schedulers, calendars, database programs, word processing programs, HTTPprograms, customizable user interface programs, IPSec applications,encryption programs, security programs, VPN programs, SMS messageservers, IM message servers, email servers, account management and soforth. Vitality Data Manager (VDM) 354 may also be included as anapplication program within applications 350.

VDM 354 is configured to receive from a variety of sources informationthat may be associated with social networking activities of varioussocial networking members. Such information may include but is notlimited to various communications, including emails, SMS messages, IMmessages, audio messages, VOIP messages, RSS feeds, membershipinformation, calendar events, photo streams, photographs, blog updates,web pages, mood information, behaviors of social network members, or thelike. VDM 354 may aggregate or otherwise combine at least some of thereceived information to generate aggregate vitality information such asa mood of a group, organization, or the like, group events, albums,aggregate music selections, tags, or the like. VDM 354 may store atleast some of the received and/or aggregated information in VitalityData Store (VDS) 352, which may be implemented as a database, a folder,program, or the like. VDM 354 may also distribute at least some of thereceived and/or aggregated information to one or more social networkingmembers, such as mobile devices 102-104 and/or client device 101 of FIG.1 or the like.

VDM 354 may further be configured to manage, at least in part, a contextbased search based on a received request. The received request may, inone embodiment, include social networking parameters, data, or the like,that is arranged to direct the search based on a social context,including various vitality aspects of the social context. Thus, thereceived search request may include parameters indicating a physicallocation of the requester, a calendar event, a task list item, a requestto employ aggregate social networking information, or the like. In oneembodiment, VDM 354 may update at least some of the social networkinginformation to be used to perform the search. In one embodiment, VDM 354may also combine the received social networking parameters, withadditional social networking information. VDM 354 may then perform thesearch or direct another computing device to perform the search, orperform several searches based on the input and the social networkingparameters. VDM 354 may, for example, perform at least a portion of thesearch on a database managed, at least in part, by VDM 354. VDM 354 mayalso perform the context based search using a variety of traditionalsearch tools, known databases, the internet, or the like. VDM 354 maythen provide a response to the searches to the requesting computingdevice. In one embodiment, at least a portion of the response may enablethe requester to provide a comment on the context based search response.If the requester selects to provide a comment, VDM 354 may provide thecomment to at least one other social networking member, aggregate thecomment with other comments, incorporate the comment into a socialnetworking database of comments, or the like. VDM 354 may employprocesses such as described below in conjunction with FIGS. 4 and 6 toperform at least some of its actions.

Generalized Operation

The operation of certain aspects of the invention will now be describedwith respect to FIGS. 4-7. FIG. 4 illustrates a logical flow diagramgenerally showing one embodiment of a process for gathering and/oraggregating social networking information. Process 400 of FIG. 4 may beimplemented with VAS 106 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 illustrates a logical flow diagram generally showing oneembodiment of a process for managing social networking information,including vitality information for social networking members. Process400 of FIG. 4 may be implemented within VAS 106 of FIG. 1.

Process 400 begins, after a start block, at block 402, where socialnetworking information, including vitality information is received froma variety of sources. In one embodiment, the social networkinginformation may be received from a plurality of mobile devices, RSSservices, IM services, email services, VOIP services, audio services,web services, graphics services, or the like. For example, a socialnetworking member may provide a mood avatar, photograph, or informationfrom a blog. In another example, a web service, or other service mayprovide photographs, audio files, or the like. In one embodiment,information may be received, absent a solicitation for the information.In another embodiment, a request for information may be sent to variousservices, mobile devices, client devices, or the like. The receivedinformation may include various vitality information including, but notlimited to mood information, location information, IM or othercommunication status, information indicating a change in a blog status,or any of the other vitality information described above.

Processing then flows to block 404 where sharing rules are received. Inone embodiment, a sending device may also employ sharing rules todetermine whether to send particular vitality information. For example,a mobile user, or the like, may elect not to communicate their physicallocation. Therefore, such information might not be received for somesocial networking members. In another embodiment, sharing rules may bereceived prior to or even coincident with some portion of socialnetworking information. For example, in one embodiment, a photo sharingservice may send a selection of photographs, or the like, with sharingrules that indicate whether a social networking member may receive orotherwise access one or more of the photographs. Such sharing rulestherefore, indicate which social networking member(s) may receive orotherwise access which portion of social networking information. Thus,sharing rules include various criteria, events, triggers, or the like.

Process 400 then flows to block 406 where based in part on the sharingrules, at least some of the received social networking information,including at least some of the vitality information may be aggregated,or otherwise combined. For example, where a predefined group of socialnetworking members provide a mood identifier that indicates a similarmood, an aggregated mood might be generated for the group. As anotherexample, where several social networking members have provided anopinion on a blog, a restaurant, an event, or the like, an aggregatedopinion may be generated. Clearly, the invention, however, is notlimited to these examples, and a variety of other received socialnetworking information may be aggregated, without departing from thescope or spirit of the invention.

Processing then flows to block 408, where at least some of the receivedsocial networking information, including vitality information, andaggregated information may be stored. Storage of such informationenables distribution at some other time, additional aggregation, and/orother analysis to be performed, or the like. However, storage of socialnetworking information may be, in at least one embodiment, optional.

Flowing next to decision block 410, a determination is made whether todistribute at least a portion of the social networking information.Distribution may be performed based on a variety of criteria, includingbut not limited to, sending the information as soon as it is received,sending at least some of the information based on an event, time, or thelike. For example, in one embodiment, some of the information may bedistributed in real-time, while other information may be distributedbased on an event, or the like. In any event, if distribution of socialnetworking information is to occur, processing flows to block 412;otherwise, processing flows to decision block 414.

At block 412, the social networking information, including at least someaggregation information, is distributed to at least one mobile device,based on the received sharing rules. Processing then flows to decisionblock 414.

At decision block 414, a determination is made whether there is moresocial networking information to manage. If there is more socialnetworking information to manage, processing branches back to block 402;otherwise, processing returns to a calling process to perform otheractions.

FIG. 5 illustrates a logical flow diagram generally showing oneembodiment of a process for use by a mobile device in performing acontext based search using vitality information. Process 500 of FIG. 5may, for example, be implemented with one of mobile devices 102-104 ofFIG. 1. It is important to note, that while directed towards mobiledevices, the invention is not so limited, and a ‘stationary’ computingdevice, such as client device 101 may also employ process 500, withoutdeparting from the scope or spirit of the invention.

Process 500 begins, after a start block, at block 502, where socialnetworking information, including vitality information, is received.Such social networking information may include a variety of information,including, but not limited to, proximity information about members of asocial network, aggregated social networking information, moods ofmembers of the social network, information associated with degree ofseparation of members of the social network, preferences from at leastsome of the members of the social network, as well as social networkinginformation mentioned above.

Processing flows next to block 504 where social networking informationfrom the local mobile device may be generated. Such information mayinclude, but is not limited to a physical location, a mood of the userof the mobile device, content of an application on the mobile deviceincluding calendars, task lists, contact lists, whether the mobile userhas received or recently sent various messages including IM messages,email messages, and the like, to whom or from whom the messages weresent/received, as well as other local social networking informationmentioned above. Such local social networking information is intended tobe focused on describing the status, activities, behaviors, and thelike, of the mobile user associated with the mobile device. Therefore,local social networking information may, for example, includeinformation regarding what activities the mobile user may be associatedwith, as well as whether the mobile user is involved in stockactivities, has a meeting, is at a party (as determined by content ofthe mobile user's calendar, and physical location), or the like.

Processing continues to block 506 where the received social networkinginformation and the local social networking information may be combined.In one embodiment, the social networking information is also stored in alocal data store. Combining the social networking information may bebased on prior behaviors of the user of the mobile device, currentphysical location of the mobile device, contents of the mobile user'scalendar, task list, or the like. At least some of the social networkinginformation may be combined with other social networking information, becombined based on a weighed algorithm, or the like.

Process 500 moves next to block 508, where the mobile user may provideinput to the mobile device, typically in the form of one or morecharacters. Typically, the mobile device may display a new screen toupon initial receipt of the input. Processing then flows to block 510,where the social networking information from at least blocks 502, 504,and 506 is employed to select for display a list of one or moreapplications, including a context based search application. FIG. 7illustrates one embodiment of a list of applications that are displayedbased on a social networking context.

Processing continues next to decision block 512, where a determinationis made whether the mobile user has selected one of the applicationswithin the list, selected to perform a context based search based on theinput, provide additional input, or the like. If the mobile user selectsto perform one of the applications within the list, processing flows toblock 522. If the mobile user selects to perform the context basedsearch, processing continues to block 514. Although not shown, themobile user may also provide additional input, in which instance, theprocess may loop back to block 508. It is noted, that although notshown, the mobile user may also elect to exit the mobile device, selectan application not on the list, or the like, without departing from thescope or spirit of the invention.

At block 522, the selected application may be performed. In oneembodiment, at least some of the input may be employed by the selectedapplication. Process 500 may then return to a calling process to performother actions.

At block 514, however, a context based search request is generated basedin part on the social networking information and the received input. Inone embodiment, a set of search parameters may be generated based on theinput and the social networking information. In one embodiment, thecontext based search request may be formed using a structured querylanguage. In another embodiment, the context based search request may beformed based any of a variety of other formats, including an HTTP querysearch, a format for a particular web crawler application, databaseapplication, or the like. The context based search request may then besent over the network to a computing device that may perform the searchon behalf of the mobile device. Processing continues to block 516, wherea context based search response may be received. In one embodiment, thecontext based search response may be prepared and provided by the othercomputing device using a process such as described below in conjunctionwith FIG. 6.

Processing continues to decision block 518, where mobile user may usethe context based search response to perform a variety of actions. Inone embodiment, the mobile user may receive a context based searchresponse that may enable the mobile user to provide a comment, orsimilar input. If the user selects not to provide a response, processingmay return to the calling process to perform other actions.

If the mobile user selects to provide a comment, processing flows toblock 520 where the mobile user may prepare and send the comment. Whilethe context based search response may be provided to the mobile user asa graphic, and/or text based response. The mobile user is notconstrained to providing a comment in a similar format. Thus, forexample, the mobile user may select to provide the comment as an audioresponse, SMS response, email, form response, or the like. In any event,processing may return to the calling process to perform other actions.

FIG. 6 illustrates a logical flow diagram generally showing oneembodiment of a process for use by a network device in responding to arequest for a context based search. Process 600 of FIG. 6 may beimplemented, for example, within VAS 106 of FIG. 1.

Process 600 begins, after a start block, at block 602 where a contextbased search request, such as described above, is received.

Processing flows to block 604 where additional social networkinginformation may also be received. Additional social networkinginformation that is received enables the context based search to remainmore current, and therefore, potentially more relevant to the requester.Thus, the additional social networking information may include whetherselected members of the social network are currently within an IMconversation, email exchange, audio conversation, or the like. Theadditional information may also include any changes in selected member'scalendars, task lists, physical location, or the like.

Processing then continues to block 606 where the additional socialnetworking information may be employed to modify the received contextbased search request. The modified context based search request may thenbe performed to obtain a response. In one embodiment, the search requestmay be performed over the internet, an intranet, using at least oneselected databases, or the like. In one embodiment, the search requestmay be performed using web crawlers. In one embodiment, the searchrequest may be decomposed and provided as a plurality of searchrequests. In any event, a context based search response may be obtained.At block 608, the context based search response is provided to therequester. Processing then returns to a calling process to perform otheractions.

It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustration, andcombinations of blocks in the flowchart illustration, can be implementedby computer program instructions. These program instructions may beprovided to a processor to produce a machine, such that theinstructions, which execute on the processor, create means forimplementing the actions specified in the flowchart block or blocks. Thecomputer program instructions may be executed by a processor to cause aseries of operational steps to be performed by the processor to producea computer implemented process such that the instructions, which executeon the processor to provide steps for implementing the actions specifiedin the flowchart block or blocks. The computer program instructions mayalso cause at least some of the operational steps shown in the blocks ofthe flowchart to be performed in parallel. Moreover, some of the stepsmay also be performed across more than one processor, such as mightarise in a multi-processor computer system.

Accordingly, blocks of the flowchart illustration support combinationsof means for performing the specified actions, combinations of steps forperforming the specified actions and program instruction means forperforming the specified actions. It will also be understood that eachblock of the flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustration, can be implemented by special purposehardware-based systems which perform the specified actions or steps, orcombinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.

Illustrative Use Case

FIG. 7 shows one embodiment of a use case illustrating performing acontext based search and providing a mobile review of a search result,in accordance with the present invention. As such, use case 700 of FIG.7 may be used to illustrate one example of using the invention.

As shown in use case 700, the mobile user may determine that they maydesire to participate in some event, such as a lunch event, party,meeting, or the like, as illustrated in block 702. The mobile devicemay, for this example, be location aware. That is, through GPS, oranother location tracking mechanism, the mobile device may provide aphysical location.

As shown in block 704, the mobile user may start to type characters intothe display screen of their mobile device. It is important to note,however, that the invention is not constrained to how input is providedto the context oriented application. Thus, for example, the mobile usermight be able to verbally dictate input, employ a touch screen, astylus, or the like, to provide input.

In any event, as the input is received by the context orientedapplication, social networking information is employed to select anddisplay a list of applications, including a search application.Selection of the list of application is based on usage of the socialnetworking information as described above. Thus, in this example, themobile user may have an item in their task list, calendar or the like,associated with stocks. For example, consider that the mobile user'scalendar indicates that the mobile user is to have a meeting with theirstock broker, or the like, in the afternoon. Thus, one of theapplications that may appear is related to obtaining stock information.In addition, the social networking information may indicate that themobile user is looking for a definition of a term that may be relatedwith an item in their task list. Thus, a dictionary lookup applicationmay also be provided. In addition, the search application may employsocial networking information to recognize that the mobile user inphysically located in downtown Chicago, has an hour or so for lunch, andtypically eats at Thai restaurants when downtown. For this use case, themobile user selects a Thai restaurant.

As seen in block 706, a list of possible restaurants is provided thatindicate context based specific information. For example, asillustrated, a physical distance from the mobile user is provided,without requesting the mobile user to explicitly provide their location.Moreover, the list of possible restaurants may be ordered based onsocial networking information, such as which restaurants a friend,family member, close contact (first degree of separation), or the likehas recommended. The list might also provide a review from a friend,family member, or the like. In addition, the list might be generatedbased on a variety of other social networking information, includingperhaps how busy the restaurant may typically be, how much time themobile user has available as indicated by their calendar, or the like.

Also, as illustrated, the list of restaurants may enable the mobile userto provide a review or other comment on the restaurant. Thus, as shownin block 708, the mobile user may provide a comment that may be providedback to another computing device, to be shared among the social networkof the mobile user.

It is important to remember, that the above use case is merely anillustration of one of a myriad of other possible uses for context basedsearch using social networking information to provide context basedresponses to a mobile user. Thus, FIG. 7 is not intended to limit theuse or other aspects of the invention.

The above specification, examples, and data provide a completedescription of the manufacture and use of the composition of theinvention. Since many embodiments of the invention can be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention, the inventionresides in the claims hereinafter appended.

1. A mobile device that is operative to manage a mobile search over anetwork, comprising: a memory component for storing data; and aprocessing component for executing data that enables actions, including:collecting vitality information that includes a content of a calendarfor a user of the mobile device and a current mood of the user of themobile device provided, in part, through a mood avatar; collectingadditional social networking information that includes at least anaggregated mood of a predefined group of social networking members;modifying the vitality information to further include a current locationof the mobile device; automatically selecting and displaying a list ofapplications based on the additional social networking information,including the aggregated mood for the group, and modified vitalityinformation, the list of applications including a contextual-searchapplication; receiving a search query from the mobile device user;automatically modifying the search query based on the vitalityinformation to generate a context based search request; sending thecontext based search request over the network; and receiving for displayon the mobile device a context based search response that is based inpart on the vitality information and the search query.
 2. The mobiledevice of claim 1, the actions further comprising: receiving a commentassociated with the context based search response; and providing thecomment to another member of a social network.
 3. The mobile device ofclaim 1, wherein the additional social networking information andmodified vitality information used to automatically select the list ofapplications comprises more than location information, and dateinformation.
 4. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein the vitalityinformation further comprises at least one of a current time, a task ina task list on the mobile device, or a current message activity.
 5. Themobile device of claim 1, wherein the actions further comprising:providing a list of actions that invokes at least one of a mobileapplication or a remote application based, in part, on the vitalityinformation including at least one of a task list associated with themobile device, or an aggregate online behavior of at least some membersof a social network.
 6. The mobile device of claim 1, modifying thevitality information further comprises combining at least some of thevitality information associated with the user of the mobile device withat least some vitality information associated with at least one othermember of a social to generate the modified vitality information used tomodify the search.
 7. A processor readable storage medium that includesdata, wherein the execution of the data provides for the management of amobile search over a network by enabling actions, including: collectingvitality information that includes a content of a calendar for a user ofa mobile device and a current mood of the user of the mobile deviceprovided, in part, through a mood avatar; modifying the vitalityinformation to further include a current location of the mobile device;collecting aggregated social networking information that includes atleast an aggregated mood of a predefined group of social networkingmembers; determining a social networking context based, in part, on thevitality information and the aggregated social networking information,including the aggregated mood; receiving an input from the user, theinput including a search request; and employing the determined socialnetworking context to generate a context based search request bymodifying the search request, and sending the context based searchrequest to a network device to obtain a context based search response.8. The processor readable storage medium of claim 7, wherein generatingthe context based search request further comprises: combining physicallocation of a mobile device associated with the processor readablemedium with information from at least one of an application on themobile device, aggregated online behavior for at least two members ofthe social network, or social networking information from another memberof the social network; and employing the combined information and theinput from the user to generate the context based search request.
 9. Theprocessor readable storage medium of claim 7, the actions furthercomprising: receiving a comment associated with the context based searchresponse; and providing the comment to another member of a socialnetwork.
 10. The processor readable storage medium of claim 7, theactions further comprising: providing a list of actions that invoke atleast one of a mobile application or a remote application based, inpart, on another received input and the determined social networkingcontext; and enabling a mobile user to select at least action forexecution from the list.
 11. The processor readable storage medium ofclaim 7, wherein the vitality information further comprises at least oneof a task in a task list on the mobile device, a current messageactivity, a past behavior of a mobile user associated with the mobiledevice, a social event, and an aggregate behavior.
 12. A network devicefor enabling a search using a mobile device, comprising: a transceiverto send and receive data over the network; and a processor that isoperative to perform actions, including: receiving social networkinginformation, including vitality information, and aggregated informationfrom a plurality of social networking members the aggregated informationincluding at least an aggregated mood of the plurality of socialnetworking members; distributing to at least one mobile device, at leasta portion of the social networking information, wherein the mobiledevice is enabled to employ at least the portion of the socialnetworking information, including at least the aggregated information,and vitality information about a user of the mobile device that includesa content of a calendar for the user and a current mood of the userprovided through a mood avatar to generate a context based searchrequest; and receiving from the mobile device the context based searchrequest for use in performing the context based search request andproving a result for display by the mobile device.
 13. The networkdevice of claim 12, wherein generating the context based search requestfurther comprising: determining social networking information for theuser of the mobile device based on vitality information within themobile device; combining the received portion of social networkinginformation with the social networking information for the user; andemploying combined social networking information to generate the contextbased search request.
 14. The network device of claim 13, wherein thesocial networking information for the user further comprises informationfrom a task list associated with the user.
 15. The network device ofclaim 12, wherein the vitality information about the user of the mobiledevice further comprises at least one of a current time, a task in atask list on the mobile device, a current message activity, a pastbehavior of user associated with the mobile device, or a social event.16. A method of managing a mobile search over a network, comprising:collecting, at a mobile device, vitality information that includes acontent of a calendar for a user of the mobile device and a current moodof the user of the mobile device provided through a mood avatar;modifying, at the mobile device, the vitality information to furtherinclude a current location of the mobile device; collecting additionalsocial networking information that includes at least an aggregated moodof a predefined group of social networking members; determining a socialnetworking context based, in part, on the vitality information and theadditional social networking information including at least theaggregated mood; receiving an input on the mobile device representing amobile search request; and employing the determined social networkingcontext to modify the mobile search request, and providing the modifiedmobile search over the network to obtain a context based search responsefor display on the mobile device.
 17. The method of claim 16, theactions further comprising: receiving a comment associated with thecontext based search response; and providing the comment to anothermember of a social network.
 18. The method of claim 16, the actionsfurther comprising: providing a list of actions that invoke a mobileapplication or a remote application based, in part, on another receivedinput and the determined social networking context; and enabling themobile user to select at least one action for execution from the list.19. The method of claim 16, wherein at least a portion of the vitalityinformation is obtained based on at least one of an aggregate of socialnetworking information from members of a social network, socialnetworking information residing on the mobile device, and a physicallocation at least one other mobile device.
 20. A computer-readablestorage medium that is configured to include program instructions thatwhen installed on a computing device transforms the computing devicesuch that it is enabled to perform the method of claim
 16. 21. A mobileapparatus for enabling a search using a mobile device, comprising: atransceiver to send and receive data over the network; means fordetermining vitality information that includes a content of a calendarfor a user of the mobile device and a current mood of the user of mobiledevice provided through a mood avatar and modifying the determinedvitality information with a current location of the mobile device; meansfor collecting additional social networking information that includes atleast an aggregated mood of a predefined group of social networkingmembers; means for determining a social networking context based, inpart, on the vitality information, the aggregated mood, and additionalvitality information associated with at least one other member of asocial network; means for receiving an input on the mobile apparatus;and means for employing the determined social networking context togenerate a context based mobile search request, and performing thecontext based mobile search over the network to obtain a context basedsearch response.